


Abalone

by Trash_Baby



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Half-Human, Half-Mermaid, Hybrids, Little Mermaid Elements, Mating, Mating Bond, Mating Rituals, MerMay, Mermaid Ben Solo, Mermaid Kylo, Mermaid Reader, Mermaid royalty, Merman Kylo?, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader-Insert, but not really, mermaid rey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:15:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24157222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trash_Baby/pseuds/Trash_Baby
Summary: iKylo was bored.He had been for a while now, years - decades, in fact - of boredom, bored of the same repetitive cycles of life he was bound to abide by; bound to the cycle of the moon, to the tide of the sea, to the duties of the court he was heir to, and to the cycle of his very nature, the instinctive urge to migrate and mate and claim.*Kylo Ren, a Prince, struggles to find his place among his people. With competitive twin, Ben Solo, already mated to Rey, he struggles to find a mate of his own.Until he meets you.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Reader, Kylo Ren/You, Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 62
Kudos: 150





	1. The Cove

Kylo was bored.

He had been for a while now, years - decades, in fact - of boredom, bored of the same repetitive cycles of life he was bound to abide by; bound to the cycle of the moon, to the tide of the sea, to the duties of the court he was heir to, and to the cycle of his very nature, the instinctive urge to migrate and mate and claim.

It was all just so _boring_ to him.

At least, he told himself it was boredom and not a rigid facade he held to conceal the flaming jealousy he held towards the fact that his twin, Ben, had already mated to the beautiful, fierce Princess Rey, a mermaid from a distant territory that they had both fought for the attention of.

Ben, of course, had won, and Kylo, ever the sore loser, had stewed in his bitter jealousy and self-pity until he fooled himself otherwise. Convinced himself that he wasn't stung by her blatant disinterest and rejection, something he's so often experienced in his long - though by his own species standards, relatively short - life. Kylo was used to rejection. Despite his royal title and legendary skills as a ruthless warrior, he was often overlooked and avoided in favour of his twin, the extroverted, proud Ben Solo, ever the charmer and beacon of light. He even looked the part, with his gold-hued scales and bright eyes to match.

He was the perfect match for Princess Rey, with her sun-bronzed scales and decorative fins that flared and fluttered in the currents like a Crowntail Betta. The pair of them shone like the sunken treasure that humans were so prone to losing to the ocean floor, and Kylo was bitterly envious of the pair.

Once, Kylo and Ben had looked all but identical in their facial features, with their strong, proud noses, full lips, and sharp jaws, but a vicious territorial battle with a neighbouring merman had left Kylo with a deep scar that split diagonally across his face, starting at his brow, grazing over his nose, and dragging across his cheek to bury itself deep in his shoulder and halfway down his chest. Time had healed the wound, faded it to a faint line that cut across his face, but the scar on his chest had been dug deep, leaving the pale skin taut and puckered, and would tug at his muscles when migration season occurred, and the ocean waters turned colder and crueler.

Still, even without the scar, Kylo knew he stood out. Where his brother had taken after his parents in colouring - his mother's tail was an envious pearlescent silver, truly a tail of royalty, and his father's a rusty shade of sand - Kylo's were a mystery, among both his family and most of his kind. Scales darker than the abyss, darker than the night sky when the moon was nowhere to be seen and just as dark eyes to match, with streamlined fins tipped in a bloody red, he was a stark contrast to the rest of his kind.

His species was a superstitious one - a trait that made some sense considering the magic that coursed through their veins - and the squid-ink black of his scales left the court wary of the prince, whispered that the darkness of his tail reflected the darkness within. Kylo had often thought the belief to be ridiculous, when he wasn't so caught up in their words; he knew for a fact that he had been a perfectly normal - albeit lonely - child, and that any darkness and aggression that dwelled inside of him was the result of years of being treated differently by others - treated like he was dangerous and wild - whilst his brother was showered with the attention he so desperately craved.

It left him isolated, an outsider to the people he was supposed to one day rule over, and the fear of what he was rumoured to one day become only drove him further away. The time he spent with his kind was far and few between, even further now that his brother, the only one he truly interacted with, was mated. The pressure he felt now to find a mate of his own drove him further away, the irony of the predicament he found himself in not lost. How could he expect to find a mate when he spent most of his time actively avoiding his people?

Dark emotions raged within him, tearing apart his mind - negativity and anger and jealousy and fear digging their claws deep - and Kylo often found himself trawling through open waters as his mind went to war with itself, uncaring of the dangers. He knew he was more dangerous than whatever else lurked here. His sheer size alone was enough to scare off any predators, and if not he knew the speed and strength he possessed would be enough to protect himself against anything that dare try and attack.

With a wandering mind, Kylo found himself drifting through the ocean with no intent. The voices in his head were loud, and the urge to drown them out, find a distraction, find _peace_ , left his gills flaring as he thrashed through the water, picking up speed to reach no particular destination.

Until a roar from above caught his attention. He was in shallower waters than he realised, and Kylo glanced up at the boat, an ugly thing that contained humans, before deciding on a whim to follow it. Humans were intriguing creatures; he found them to be leagues more interesting than the gossiping members of his court. Their behaviour had always piqued his curiosity, how these land-dwelling creatures were always so desperate to try and conquer the ocean with their silly boats, great husks that were so prone to sinking, as fragile as the silly humans that they contained.

Still, something about humans always gave Kylo some peace, even if it was ever only temporary. It was frowned upon by many of his kind to even think about humans, let alone observe them, or interact with them. Countless stories, warnings, of how dangerous the humans were, they all seemed so silly to Kylo.

Trailing after the boat, Kylo soon found himself in shallower waters, and they became busier with more boats, smaller boats. Kylo kept close to the ocean floor, knowing that humans were prone to scaring - he had heard of how scared they were of sharks, and didn't fancy being mistaken for one. Smaller shoals of fish scattered before he could get close to them, though he paid them no attention. The boat he had followed was not his source of interest today, and so he drifted away from its course and took his own path, following the lazy current that pulled him along, drifting along until the lurking shadows of boats from above no longer obscured the sunlight filtering through the waters.

He gave pause for a moment, and studied the surface for signs of human life. Nothing, no boats in sight for miles, he was pleased to note, and twisted to head upwards, breaching the surface slowly to savour the cool saltwater that ran from his face in rivulets. Kylo threw his head back, inky locks of hair raining droplets of water in an arch as he bared his face to the sun. It was a guilty pleasure of his that he rarely indulged in, to enjoy the warmth of the sun. Usually it was only the young maids that enjoyed sunning themselves, though he'd never gone as far as surfacing enough to do so on the rocks, as he'd heard many of them did.

Instead, he dipped his head back into the water to float on his back, arms spread wide and tail fins lapping at the surface, teasing the still waters. He knew it was risky, to expose himself so close to the land, but it was warmer than at the surface of the open ocean, and the thrill of humans nearby made the sun feel that much warmer against his skin. Up here, Kylo found himself relaxing, the rage that so often fueled him melting away under the heat of the sun.

He stayed like that for some time, eyes closed but ears alert, until a faint sound caught his attention, a strange clattering followed by a splash. Sinking down until only his eyes rest above the surface, Kylo tried to locate the source of the sound, slowly turning until his eyes latched onto a distant rock formation a mile or so off. Intrigued by whatever had disturbed his peace, he set off towards the rocks, and upon arrival found them to be a cove, almost completely cut off from the rest of the ocean.

Drawing close to the rocks, he was careful to move slowly, webbed fingers latching onto the rocks as he peered around the edge to scan the closed in space. A sandy shoreline, split down the middle with a short pier leading up to a house - Kylo had learnt that humans lived in these, and not boats, like he had once thought when he was a curious child.

The strange human dwelling was not what caught his attention though.

Instead, he was staring, rapt, at the human itself.

It was in the water, close to the pier. He could only see its head, their wet strands of hair piled up in a messy disarray atop their head as they turned away from him to look up at the house, and Kylo only moved when the human did, hastily ducking under the waves as their head turned in his direction. He caught enough of a glance of their face to determine that it was a female, their features soft and warm.

_Pretty_.

Intrigued, he waited only a moment before peeking over again, only to once again find himself staring.

It - no, _she_ \- wasn't a human, as he had first thought.

She was one of his kind.

Much like he had been doing moments before, she was floating on her back, her face tilted up to catch the sun as her tail lapped at the surface.

And _oh_ , what a tail it was.

Kylo had never seen a more beautiful tail in his entire existence. Like a polished abalone shell, it had scales of every colour, iridescent blues, shimmering purples, pearlescent pinks, all shifting technicolour as the sun danced off of them. Ruffled fins, thinner than any he'd seen before, danced in the gentle waves, the colours fading out until the tips were nothing more than wisps. Memories of the princess Rey's Crowntail fins were diminished, replaced instead by the gorgeous feathertail of the mysterious mermaid he'd stumbled upon.

Suddenly, the thought of a mate no longer seemed boring to Kylo.

Sinking under the surface, he let go of the rocks and breached the entry of the cove. Kylo moved slowly, carefully, inching his way towards her, not once blinking as he observed her relaxed form from below. Even now, without direct sunlight, the scales danced between different colours, leaving him enraptured, entranced. Her fins must have been more sensitive than he realised, because suddenly her figure stiffened and she twisted, plunging under the water to face him, fins flaring wide in a warning display.

Cautious eyes widened dramatically when she saw him, an indescribable expression taking over her once serene face. Shock, fear, awe, terror, all danced across her face, meanwhile Kylo's face remained stoic, jaw set and eyes pinned on her. Her attempt at a warning did little to deter him; in fact, it entranced him all the more, the seemingly endless ruffles of translucent fins framing her like wings. He watched as her eyes darted wildly about the water, but she was trapped. With the shoreline to her back, and Kylo blocking the entry to the cove, he knew she had no where to go, and fought back the urge to smirk.

Slowly, cautiously, she shifted towards the pillars that held up the pier, not once turning away from him. Her fins dragged across the seabed, and Kylo noted just how small she actually was, her tail in itself was maybe only half the length of his. He knew that she was also realising just how big he was, her eyes taking in the sheer length and solid mass that made up his sleek tail. Built for speed.

Kylo kept his distance, staying where he was as she slowly backed away, shielding herself behind the wooden pillar. Her arms wrapped around it loosely, face half-hidden as she continued to watch him with terrified eyes. His brow furrowed slightly, taking in the sight of her hands. They were small, delicate things with no webbing between them and the most pathetic excuse for claws he had ever seen - they were short, stubby, blunt things, and were a shimmering blue, something he'd never seen before. How was she supposed to hunt with claws like that? He hoped her teeth were sharp enough to make up for it.

He began to shift closer, eating up the short distance between them until he was only a few feet away. All the while, he watched as she shrunk further into herself, fins drawn close to her body and tail twisting uncomfortably as she backed even further away, until the water was only a few feet deep and the top of her head peeked out above the surface. Her eyes remained underwater though, glued to Kylo's now prone frame. Watching him. Waiting.

Kylo's shoulders were wide enough that he could just barely pass between the two pillars that held up the pier, and so he waited there, one broad arm wrapping around the pillar that she had previously clung to. Her eyes briefly darted to his huge hand, catching sight of the webbing and his sharp claws that dug into the old wood, and she gulped, gills along her ribs fluttering in fear as her own hands flexed and clenched into fists. He studied her more, frown becoming more prominent - her gills were almost invisible, he could barely see any protective scales around them, unlike the dark edging his own gills had.

Suddenly, she darted away, streaming out from under the pier and towards the shallows of the shore. Kylo's fins flared at the sudden movement, and he pushed away to give chase, catching up within seconds to speed alongside her. Reaching out, the tip of his claws just brushed along the edges of her fins, teasing her. A startled hissing yelp tumbled from her lips, and he watched in bewilderment as she eluded his touch by spinning away sharply and rolling up onto the shore.

Pausing, Kylo breached the surface, both concern and amusement etched onto his face as he watched her flounder on the sand with only the lapping of waves catching at her fins. He expected her to roll back into the water towards him, maybe make a quick retreat back to the faux safety of the pier, but instead, to his great confusion, she rolled again, further up the beach and onto dry sands. He could only imagine how uncomfortable she must be, fins all twisted and wrapped around her tail with sand in her gills and scratching at her scales.

He opened his mouth to ask her _'what are you doing?'_ , when suddenly a sharp crack broke the silence. She jerked, tail twitching, and a low groan slipped through her lips as she struggled to pull herself further up the shore, only managing to drag herself several inches before another snapping sound echoed about the cove. Kylo watched, a blend of horror and fascination, as her fins seemed to shrivel up, shrinking up into her tail, which continued to twitch. Scales mimicked her fins, curling up like flakes in the sun and becoming as translucent as her fins once were, fading away into nothingness, leaving behind . . . skin.

Her tail had been replaced by human legs.

Kylo stared with wide eyes as she lay panting in the sand, gills nothing but faint slits along her silken skin. Slowly, tiredly, as if her head weighed twice as much as it should do, she turned to face him, cheek pressed flat into the sand. Her eyes were no longer wide, but drooped low with the sudden exertion of her transformation, though they flickered with fear when she realised he was still there, watching. She made a half-hearted effort to scramble further up the beach, but her arms could barely support her weight, and she gave up when she noticed he was still; Kylo made no effort to move, maintaining his position in several feet of shallow waters, barely even blinking as his mind worked overtime to process what he had just witnessed.

"W-who . . . who are . . . you?" She whispered faintly, and even though it was no louder than a breeze, his heart was sent into overtime at the sound of her voice.

He hummed softly, deep baritone washing over her before he spoke, one single word. "Kylo." A smirk tugged at the corner of his full lips, drinking in the way she relaxed, her breaths deepening and mouth going slack at the sound.

"Pretty . . ." She murmured, almost to herself, before she blinked and refocused on his face, a wary frown crinkling her brow. "You shouldn't . . . be here."

"Why?"

"This . . . I'm not . . . Well-" She struggled to answer, her frown deepening momentarily. Kylo waited patiently, eager to hear her voice again, soft and melodic despite the exhaustion that tinted it. "My home, this is my home . . . It's not safe . . . out there."

He hummed again, a frown taking over his own features. "Your home?" He queries, and she nods, face rubbing against the sand as she drags her arm up to awkwardly point at the human dwelling. "Human?"

She takes in the confusion that washes over his face, a small puff of laughter slipping out of her. "Me? Only half. Half human, half . . ." Her voice drifted off, again lifting her arm to point at Kylo in an attempt to finish her sentence.

Kylo is alight with curiosity, mind spinning as he tried to figure out how she was both human and mer. "How."

Cheeks flaring red at his demand, she coughs awkwardly. "My mother was human, my father . . . was your kind. I guess they just, you know . . . did it?"

Kyo snorts at her vague explanation, the way her cheeks radiated the heat of embarrassment. "Who is he?"

"I don't know . . . I never met my father. I don't remember stories about him, my mother-" She swallowed, eyes going glassy, "She died when I was young, I live with my grandmother."

His heart lurched for her, the pretty little human-mer he'd found in the secret cove. She'd captured his attention and his heart already, he was so wholly enamored by her and they'd done little more than share a few words. No signals, no mating rituals, no playful flirting that his species were so prone to carrying out when interested in a potential mate. She'd done no such thing, and yet he was already under her spell, willing to give her anything her heart desired.

"I have to go . . ." She murmured suddenly, slowly pushing up from the sand as her strength returned, turning away as she stood and wrapping her arms around her torso.

A high-pitched keen pierced the air, and she froze glancing over her shoulder at him with wide eyes. "Don't."

Biting her lip - Kylo notices with some dismay that her teeth are as blunt as her claws - she stares at him for a moment longer. "I'll still be here tomorrow. I live here."

"I will return. Tomorrow." He states, before tilting his head to echo her first question. "Who are you?"

"Y/N." You breathe, before turning and stumbling up the beach on shaky legs to your home. Kylo watches intently, drinking in every inch of you as you leave, only sinking beneath the surface when you enter your human dwelling and can no longer be seen. He does a slow lap around your cove, taking in every inch of your home, before drifting out through the mouth of the cove and back to his own home, intent on his return the next day.

Kylo was glad he didn't heed the warnings about humans. He'd found something much more special. 


	2. The Return

That night, you lay in bed, wide awake and staring blankly up at the ceiling of your bedroom. Never, _never_ in your life had you experienced something even remotely close to what had occurred today. The closest you'd come to interacting with marine creatures was dipping just beyond the mouth of the cove to follow the playful shoals of fish, straying no further than a foot beyond the rocky outcrops to watch them frolic out into deeper waters. The fear of the unknown threats that lay beyond the safe haven of your home was always enough to crush any attempts to sate the curiosity you had about the outside world beneath the depths.

You'd spent years of your life dreaming of what lay out there, of things just waiting for you to discover them. Years of thinking, wondering, yearning to find others like you, meet another of your own kind beyond the worn out tales you'd heard of your father, passed on from your mother to your sweet grandmother. He was the closest you had ever come to another like you, and they were simply faded words, faint echoes of your mother's handful of memories of him, the merman that had visited her over the course of several months, courting her with strange rituals and gifts, only to never return again after falling pregnant with you.

But today, you had experienced more than just stories.

You had met another like you. Well, kind of like you. Sort of.

You never thought you'd meet another, and so your naive pondering had always been nothing more than fanciful daydreams, childish hopes of swimming with another, with a tail like yours and strange anatomy like yours.

The man you had met today was nothing like you.

His image was ingrained into your brain, tattooed onto your eyelids to be seen every time you closed your eyes and attempted to seek out rest that kept evading your clutches. Even now, staring up at the ceiling in the darkness, the memory of him was crystal clear as your mind replayed the earlier events of the day.

_His tail alone was easily twelve feet of pure speed and strength, and yet he had simply stayed put, watching you panic and flounder as you tried to judge the situation you had suddenly found yourself in. One minute, you had been enjoying the sun glittering off your scales, and the next your instincts were kicking in full force, fins flaring in threat in a way that you never even knew you could._

Predator _, your mind screamed,_ and you're **prey**. _You had seen enough nature documentaries, enough Blue Planet to know that the man before you was dangerous. Everything about him screamed danger, from the thick bands and slabs of muscle that built his broad chest, to the short, sharp fins - nothing like the pretty, decorative fins you had, fluttering in the still water like wings, but wings were no use underwater._

_You'd once thought that your tail was big, the length of it double that of your legs, but when you saw - really saw - the sleek tail that sliced its way through the mouth of the cove, all raw muscle and sharp, smooth fins, tips flared blood red and scales pure black, dark as his piercing eyes that speared their way deep into you, you knew that you were nothing in comparison to him._

_You backed away slowly, keeping your arms outstretched behind you, until you reached the safety of the pier and darted behind a solid beam, clinging to it as if it would be able to save you from the terrifying dark stranger that had snuck their way into your home. For every foot of distance you gained, he was quick to eat it up, drawing closer and closer to you, not once blinking those obsidian eyes as he tracked your every move. You had cursed your stupid fins, the sheer membrane always in the way, and found yourself scraping at the bed of the cove, grains of sand and sharp rocks digging their way into your tail._

_Your attempt at escape came in a short burst, spurred by his blatant threat display, powerful arm like a column of marble coiling around the beam you'd previously clung to, the silent promise that he would catch you sparking the urge to dart away. Why you wanted him to give chase, you weren't sure, but some strange instinct had stirred within, and your heart had beat double-time at the thought of him catching you. Of what he could do to you._

Sighing softly, you roll over in bed to stare out of the window, taking in the dark night sky that reminded you of his eyes, deeper than any stretch of water you had ever been in. The glowing moonlight that danced across the soothed waves of the cove, pale as his alabaster skin that pulled taut over the vast expanse of his chest. The pier cut through the water, much like the rigid stretch of scar tissue that marred the otherwise pale skin. A frustrated groan slips past your lips and you flop over, turning away from the window to glare halfheartedly at the wall opposite.

He just _wouldn't_ leave your head!

Kylo . . . Such a curious name. You flush, thinking back to how you had babbled about it being 'pretty' - whilst that much was true, it was embarrassing to utter aloud to a complete stranger. It suited him. A unique name, sharp and strong, just like him. The image of his face ghosts through your mind's eye again, a severe jawline and an aquiline nose jutting proud, yet the supple fullness of his lips contradicted the sharpness found throughout the rest of his face. Pale skin dappled with a smattering of freckles and marks, like a scattering of dark stars tossed across a bright sky, and a thin scar, pink-tinged silver with age. And those eyes, so deep and dark - they had held you captivated when he had stared at you from across the cove, and yet you didn't doubt that they still held you captive right here in your bed.

Yes, Kylo was a pretty name, _almost_ as pretty as he was. 

When you awoke from the blissful sleep you had unknowingly drifted off into, the early morning sunlight was streaming in, bathing the room in a gentle glow that promised a day of warm sun and cloudless skies.

Taking your time with getting up, you find your gaze lingering on the view outside your window, eyes straying to the rippling water as you lazily make your bed and shuffle to pick out a comfy outfit. You give pause for a moment, remembering that Kylo had promised to return today, and with a light blush heating the high points of your cheeks, you settle on a loose t-shirt dress to wear over a bikini top, something easy to slip in and out of that when shifting between forms, and something to protect your modesty when you return to the water to see him.

God, you'd been _naked_ when you saw him yesterday, you remember, a realisation that you hadn't come across until after you'd gained your strength back from your sudden transformation yesterday - hence your awkward huddled shuffle up the beach to your home as you struggled to conceal yourself with nothing but your trembling arms. The burning sensation of his eyes on your bare skin the entire time had left you silently dying from embarrassment.

You pondered on whether he noticed your nudity or not - did mermaids wear clothes? It must be cold further out in the depths, but then, they were born into the environment, so maybe not? It wasn't a question you intended to ask him, but you couldn't help but wonder all the same.

Hurrying through the routine of getting ready, you eventually found yourself in the kitchen. Pressing a gentle peck to the wizened cheek of your grandma, you engaged in idle conversation with her, commenting on the pleasant weather, chattering about the latest gossip she had overheard at the market yesterday, complimenting her latest project she had taken on - knitting little mermaid dolls to sell alongside her other knitted creations on her stall at the upcoming fayre.

You don't mention Kylo to her, not even knowing where to begin. _Hey, Grandma, so I met a guy yesterday, he was built like a brick house and had a twelve foot tail, he seems nice enough. Maybe we could invite him round for tea and sushi some time?_ You snort to yourself at the idea of it all.

Instead, you settle for puttering about the house, taking up idle chores in an attempt to distract yourself from the anticipation of seeing Kylo again. Washing up the breakfast utensils, rearranging the flowers that sat in the vase on the kitchen table, tidying up the coffee table, fluffing the cushions on the couch and re-folding the knitted throws to drape over the back of your grandma's wicker armchair.

Each activity was minor, taking only minutes, and did little to take your mind off of Kylo. The house was kept spotless already, and yet you found yourself vacuuming and mopping the entire place from top to bottom, but even then it didn't take you long - only two small bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, and the entire lower floor an open space - a kitchen with a rickety wooden table on one side and a cozy living area opposite, facing out to look over the cove.

Unbeknownst to you, your grandmother had been watching you flit about all morning with a keen eye, creaky fingers knitting away steadily all the while. "What's got you so up in arms, dear?" She asked gently, and you pause in your current task of pulling the damp laundry from the washing machine to look over at her.

"Hmm, it's nothing, grandma. Just trying to keep busy." You smile softly, standing up with the basket of laundry as if to reinforce your point. "I'll hang this out to dry, then I think I'll go for a swim."

"If you say so, sweetheart." Grandma smiles knowingly, pale eyes attentive as she peers at you from behind the gold-wire framed glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. "Enjoy yourself."

Averting your eyes, you ignore the flush in your cheeks and hurry out to hang the laundry at the side of the house. Once done, you leave the basket on the porch, before making your way down the pier, worrying your lip in anticipation. You half-expected to see him there already, his huge figure lurking in the shallows like a coasting shark, but it was free from mysterious handsome mermen.

Undressing part-way, you leave only your bikini top on before hurriedly diving into the cool waters. It seemed that the process of your legs shifting into your tail was much easier than when they returned, although it was painful all the same. bones fused and skin split to give way to iridescent scales, fins unfurling like swathes of silk to float through the calm ripples. Taking a moment to stretch out beneath the water, tail twitching as the reformed bones settled into place, you stare up at the sky, refracted sunbeams scattering to dance over the shallow ocean floor. You take a deep breath, gills fluttering, and turn to do a slow lap around the cove, reaching down to graze your fingers across the powder-fine sand and sea-grass absentmindedly before swimming to the surface.

You bask in the midday sun for a while, enjoying the warmth as you drift along the serene surface, before deciding to watch the cove entrance, waiting for the narrow opening to be filled by the hulking figure of the man you had met the day before. Admittedly, patience wasn't your strongest quality, and you find yourself fidgeting, retying your hair back and picking at your nails as you watch expectantly, before circling the cove again, senses on high alert the whole time.

A shift in the water has you darting to attention, only for your shoulders to droop when you realise it to be a lone fish that had found its way into the cove. Sighing softly, you watch as the silvery creature skims along the bottom, drawing closer to you. Slowly, you make your way towards the fish, reaching out and brushing a single finger along its side, smiling when it darts away, only to return a moment later to assess your hand curiously.

Eventually, you find yourself resting on the soft sea-grass, belly-down and head propped up by one arm, the other arm free to play with the little fish that darted through your fingers and between your fins that floated above your head, your tail having curled up in an arch as you rested. It was a position you often found yourself in as a human, having many a time laid on the sandy shore, legs bent at the knee and kicking idly whilst your elbow dug into the sand to hold your head, your other hand diligently flipping the pages of whatever book had taken your fancy.

Whilst you can't very well bring a book to read down here, you find that the little fish you have befriended is just as entertaining, and giggle as it nibbles at your fingertip before darting away to hide in a ruffle of your nearest fin.

You almost miss it, the sudden shift in the water, a surge of movement, but your head whips up just in time to catch sight of the empty entrance before it's pervaded by Kylo. He pauses there for a moment, enthralled, and a flush of heat spreads throughout your body at the direct attention.

Kylo dips, gliding along the floor as he makes a beeline for you, and you straighten suddenly, pushing away from the sand - if you had legs, you imagine this would be the equivalent of jumping up to stand. The fish darts away, no longer playful, and instead gives Kylo a wide berth as it flees from the cove into the open waters, and you can't help pouting for a second before returning your attention to Kylo. He's at face-level and closer than he was a moment ago, little more than a few feet away, and your heart flutters at the close proximity.

"You came back." You breathe, and he nods once, dark tendrils of hair fluttering in the water with the movement.

"Of course."

"Why?" Tilting your head curiously, brows drawing together in question.

"To see you."

" _Oh_ . . ." You breathe, eyes wide at his blunt response. He moves, slowly circling you, though his eyes never leave you, doesn't even blink as he studies you, taking in every part of your body. Your eyes trail after him nervously, head whipping around when he slips behind you. He's careful not to touch you, though his tail draws as close as he dares, streamlined fins just barely missing the ruffled membranes that flare from your own tail.

Seemingly satisfied in his assessment of you, he returns to facing you, a frown tugging at his features. His head jerks towards you, gesturing to where his eyes were trained on your torso. "What is that?"

You glance down for a second before realising, "It's my, uh, bikini." His head tilts, frown still present, and you press on further with your explanation, arms coming up to wrap around your sides self-consciously. "Humans wear clothes, you know, to keep them warm and covered."

"What purpose does it serve?" He presses, still utterly confused. A quick hand darts out to tug at the fabric, and you yelp, jerking back. Just as fast, you reach up and slap his hand away, eyes wide and cheeks alight at his brazen action. Kylo smirks, drawing his hand back. "It cannot protect you from injury, it only hides more of you."

"W-well, that's because what it hides is usually private, only for someone special to see." You stumble over your choice of words, cheeks flaming all the while as he considers your explanation, dark eyes latched onto your chest, and you fold your arms tighter around yourself.

Though it makes little sense to him, Kylo can't deny the flare of possession that sparks within him at the idea of privacy, of the sight of your body being only for someone special. For him. He liked the idea of you being hidden, something special for his eyes only. He doesn't voice his thoughts to you though, not yet. Instead, he huffs in amusement, a stream of bubbles escaping his nose. "Human customs are strange."

"Yeah," You mumble, reaching up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear. "I guess they are."

"You don't decorate your hair?" He asks, again gesturing with a jerk of his head at the lock you'd touched a moment ago.

"Decorate?" You echo, head tilting softly.

"With shells and . . . _pretty_ things."

You bite back a giggle at his struggle with the word 'pretty'; you supposed a man as intimidating as himself rarely found use of a word like 'pretty'. "No, not really. I don't know how."

He considers it all, seemingly debating something with himself before setting his jaw and giving a firm nod. "I can show you."

The girls at court were always weaving shells into their hair, it was common practice, but there was a difference between a maid decorating her own hair and him personally carrying out the task. Kylo knew that such a thing was reserved for mating rituals, the act of decorating one another with trinkets and baubles was a display of affection carried out later on during courtship. If his mother found out that he had gone out of his way to decorate a mysterious half-mermaid girl he'd only just met, she'd chew him out for days on end. But Leia wouldn't find out, he determined, and how could he expect you to return the display if you didn't know how to do so in the first place?

"Really?!" You chirp eagerly, eyes sparkling and arms unwinding from their grip of your torso to reach up and brush against your tied hair.

It was purely for educational purposes, he reminds himself, nothing more. And so he tamps down on the possessive spark that flared at the image his mind procured, of your loose hair decorated with only the rarest of shells and trinkets he could find, all polished and gleaming to mimic the colours of your mesmerizing tail.

"Not today though." He mutters, though is quick to clarify when he takes note of the way your face falls, despite trying your best to hide it. "I need the shells first. But soon."

"Oh, okay," You nod in understanding, a small smile still curling at your lips and crinkling the corners of your eyes. "So . . . What else did you do yesterday?"

You spend the best part of the afternoon talking with Kylo, the two of you finding yourselves resting in the sea-grass once again. Every so often, your fin would brush against his tail, whether an accident or intentionally you weren't quite sure yourself, but each time the ghost-touch left you momentarily breathless, gills fluttering like butterfly wings. You wondered if Kylo felt the same sensation, though it was hard to tell; he was so self-contained and reticent in his manner, seemingly always in control.

Little did you know that by the time you reluctantly admitted you had to leave, Kylo's self-restraint was worn ragged at the seams, and he was fighting the urge to throw mating rituals to the current and claim you as his mate right there in the sea-grass. He steeled himself, watching solemnly as you sat up and made to move towards the shore, hesitancy seeping into every move you made.

"Tomorrow?" Kylo asked, and you turn to face him, a shy smile lighting up your face and almost knocking the breath from him.

You nod eagerly, before pausing. "It'll have to be a little later though, I have work tomorrow. I finish at four, so I'll be back by four-thirty."

Kylo had little concept of human time, but he nodded all the same.

Tomorrow at 'four-thirty'. He would be there. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two!! Let me know what you think in the comments!  
> It was lovely to see such a great response to the first chapter, I'm thrilled that so many of you are enjoying it so far - I hope you enjoy! :)


	3. The Gift

Kylo had returned the next day, though he wasn't quite sure if it was at the promised 'four-thirty'. But there you were, lounging at the surface with your tail shimmering in the remaining rays of the late afternoon sun, hair once more piled up on your head and another of those colourful 'bikinis' wrapped around your chest.

"You came!" You chirp, twisting and diving down towards him. "I was starting to think you wouldn't turn up!"

"Why?"

"You're late. I've been waiting for almost an hour."

A frown crinkles at his handsome face. "Human's measure time differently." He offers in explanation, and you shrug in response.

A secretive smile creeps its way onto your face as an idea starts to form in your mind. "It's fine, I know something that might help."

You don't elaborate, instead changing the subject to ask him about his day before he could ask you what you meant by your cryptic answer. Kylo found the question odd - no one ever asked him about his day, except for his mother when she was looking for a conversation starter to lead into harassing him about the unavoidable topic of him finding a mate. All the same, he answered, returning the question, and soon you found yourself rambling about your day at work at the small local sea-front cafe, revealing tidbits of gossip that Kylo could only partially understand.

Kylo stayed with you until the sun was sat on the cusp of the horizon, the blazing light painting the ocean surface with streaks of bloody red. Lights flickering on caught his attention, eyes alert as he stared silently in the direction of the shore, and you turn and rise to the surface to find that your grandma had turned the back porch lights on. Dipping back down, you offer Kylo a rueful smile.

"I should go, it's getting late. I'll see you again tomorrow?" You ask, eyes wide with hope as you await his response. He nods, and your grin widens. "Same time again?"

Again, Kylo nods, even though he still didn't know when 'four-thirty' was. And so he watched you turn and glide away to beach yourself, the snapping sound growing familiar as the sight of your tail gave way to creamy smooth skin. You tug on your dress after a moment, and clamber up the beach, pausing half-way to find Kylo's dark gaze trained on you. Offering him a hesitant wave, you take in the sight of the top of his head poking out of the surface, wet raven curls slick against his pale forehead and hanging in his eyes, before continuing back home.

Glancing over your shoulder at the door, you catch a glimpse of his tail fin peaking out of the water as he slunk through the mouth of the cove. Biting your lip, you smile softly, the idea that you had first had when he admitted in his funny way to not knowing the time now solidly formed in your mind. 

The rest of the evening came and went, and the next day was spent in a blur at work, absentmindedly taking orders and paying little attention to the chatter your co-workers tried to engage you in. Whatever time you _did_ spend in the real world seemed to drag by, a minute like an hour and an hour like a day, but the rest of your shift seemed to drift by like the clouds that your head was occupying. Your mind was wholly taken by the big, brooding merman that was fast growing to be the thing you most anticipated each day.

Of course, there were other things on your mind, though admittedly they were still connected to Kylo. As soon as your shift was over, you tossed your apron into your locker, scooped up your bag, and scurried out of the cafe. Dashing down the street and taking a few turns, you found yourself outside of your intended destination: the local jewelry store, a place that catered to nautical-themed trinkets of all sorts.

The old bell chimed your entrance as you slipped through the door, and the polite smile you offer is returned by the merchant behind the glass counter.

"Hello, dear," The elderly man greeted, eyes crinkling with warmth from behind the thick rims of his glasses. "What can I help you with today?"

"Hi, I'm looking for a watch for my-" You stumble for a second, swallowing the term ' _boyfriend_ ' and almost balking in surprise at the boldness of your subconscious. "-my friend. A diving watch, specifically. He's a big swimmer."

"Ah, we have a great selection over here." He gestures down the counter, and you both move towards the case he was pointing at. Several rows of watches stare back up at you, bulky and solid with silver faces and thick wrist straps.

"Which one has the deepest water resistance?" You query, eyes flitting up to him as he considers the watches.

"That would be the Helberg CH1, it's DLC coated and is water-resistant at six thousand metres." His hand hovers over the glass, pointing down to an all-black bracelet watch with strange dome-shaped glass and simple gold markers. "Would you like to take a closer look?"

Nodding eagerly, you watch in anticipation as he unlocks the case and carefully removes the watch, placing it on a velvet-coated tray for you to study it. A steady-growing smile spreads across your face as you take in all the details. You could already picture the solid metal band wrapped around his thick alabastrine wrist. It was perfect, as if it had been made especially for Kylo.

"How much is it?"

"This one right here costs two thousand." He states calmly.

You pale at the price. Perhaps you hadn't thought this plan through quite as thoroughly as you thought. Were you _really_ going to spend an entire months' wage on a watch for a man you'd met not even a week ago? And what if he didn't even like it, or didn't understand what it was?

"We also offer finance. A deposit of five hundred paid upfront and the rest can be spread out over six months." He explains, a gentle smile on his face as if reading your mind. "And you can always return it for a full refund if not."

"Really? Okay, that would be great. Thank you so much!" Beaming, you watch as he carefully takes the watch and heads into the back of the store, before returning a moment later, watch case in his weathered hands.

After parting with a hefty portion of your hard-earned money - an act that the man reassured you could be reversed if you wanted to return it - you left the store, little paper jewelry bag clutched in both hands as you hurried back home, eager to present your gift to Kylo.

Clattering through the front door, you glance at the old clock on the wall - quarter to five, _you were late_ \- and dash to your room, tossing your work bag at the foot of your bed as you rummage through your clothing for something to change into. Stripping your work outfit off and replacing it with an old triangle bikini and sarong, you snatch up the watch case from the bag and make your way out to the pier, bare feet pattering lightly all the way.

Sitting down on the edge of the pier, feet dangling above the water, you wait for Kylo's arrival. To your relief - although your jittering nerves may suggest otherwise - you don't have to wait long until he's there, the sharp contrast between his pale expanse of a back and sleek black tail immediately commanding your attention.

Kylo's curiosity is immediately piqued when he notes that you're sat up on the pier instead of the waters, tiny legs hanging over the edge. He can't help himself when he draws close, curiosity taking over as his arms lunge out before his head had even breached the surface to grab at one of your feet, inspecting the foreign appendage with great interest.

You yelp in shock at the unexpected contact, but manage to tamp down on the urge to pull away, the memory of his sharp claws and what injuries they might cause - even accidentally - being enough to freeze. He's careful, gently tilting your foot and lifting it, even poking between your toes which draws a squeal from you. Dark eyes flicker up to meet your own, pausing in his studying, before cautiously returning his attention back to your foot. He prods at your ankle, leaning closer to watch the joint in fascination as he flexes your foot to and fro, before the flats of his palms begin to skim up your calf, feather-light and drawing forth a shudder in response.

The moment he reaches the hollow behind your knee, you jerk, breath catching in your throat at the fire his touch ignites within you. Reaching down, you tug at his hand, your own trembling. Kylo flips his hand over, webbed fingers gingerly wrapping around your hand, dwarfing it in his cool grip, and another shiver zips up your spine before you force yourself to start breathing again.

"Why are you up there?" He rumbles, smooth barritone washing over you. He tugs at your hand slightly, sinking down in invitation, but you shake your head, and he pauses, brow furrowing.

"In a moment. I've got something for you."

Tugging your hand from his, you twist to grab the small box set beside you. Kylo schools his expression to one of cool indifference, though his eyes widen slightly and his tail straightens at your words. Inside, he was buzzing - you had gotten something _for him_ , a _gift_.

Opening the box, you tilt it for Kylo to see the contents. "It's a watch. Here, give me your arm." He lifts it immediately, unquestioning, and you fiddle with the latch on the watch strap for a moment before taking his hand and guiding it through the bracelet. Turning his arm, you close the latch before letting go and smiling down at him. "It's for telling you the time, so you know when to come here."

Kylo is speechless for a moment, dark eyes fixed on the newest addition to his arm. He draws it closer, turning this way and that to inspect it like he had with your foot moments ago, and you worry your lip, brows creasing the longer he remains silent.

"Do you like it?" You ask hopefully, hands toying with the empty box.

"Yes. Very much." He murmurs, voice distant, and you let out a sigh of relief.

"Great! It's meant to be water resistant even at six thousand metres, so it shouldn't break unless you go really deep." You explain, legs swinging idly. Kylo grasps at your ankles, the cool metal of the watch biting into your foot, and you pause to meet his eyes, filled with emotion and dark in the shadow of his furrowed brow.

"Thank you."

You beam at his sincere gratitude, all but preening at his simple words.

A rush of shame fills Kylo - courting began with the male bestowing gifts onto the female, to prove that he was worthy of her affection, not the other way around. And such a thoughtful gift it was, to give him the gift of human time - it showed, he hoped, that you enjoyed your time with him at least half as much as he did. He makes a promise to himself to make up for this, to try his best to shower you with gifts and trinkets, though he knew that whatever he found would never be worthy of you, the beauty of fine shells and lost jewels pale in comparison to your bright smile and glittering eyes.

Intense focus is awash over Kylo's face, and you study him discreetly for a moment before discarding the empty box on the pier and slipping your legs out of his grip to stand. Your movement seems to shake him from his reverie, and he draws away from the pier to give you space. Toes curling around the worn edge of the old planks, you dive into the water, biting your tongue and shaking off the pain at the transformation.

Stretching out, you freeze when you find yourself closer to Kylo than anticipated, barely an arms-width away. He reaches out, and you freeze, breath stuck in your lungs. Fingertips skim along the side of your bare waist, and you shudder as they slip lower, brushing the smaller scales of your hips before catching on the fabric of your sarong.

"More human clothes?" Kylo quips, and it takes a second for your brain to process his words.

A huff of strained laughter escapes your pursed lips, and you hurriedly reach down to untie the fabric, balling it up in nervous hands before rushing to the surface to hurl it onto the pier, where it landed with a wet slap.

Plunging back down, you return to Kylo with a grin. "Says the one with a human watch." You retort, before sinking down to rest in the sea-grass. "Come, I'll teach you how it works."

You take your time explaining how the watch worked, even daring to touch at his wrist when you pointed out the different parts. The entire time, Kylo is captivated, avid to drink up every word you had to say, every little gesture you made, every delighted expression that graced your face. He doesn't ask a single question throughout your explanation, and at the end, when you ask him if there was anything he was unsure of, he shook his head and - for the first time - smiled.

It lit up his entire face, eyes crinkling and carving deep dimples in his cheeks. A shy smile takes over your own face in response, hot pink filling your face, and you clear your throat as you reach up to tuck stray strands of hair behind your hair, eyes flickering about for anything to distract you from the blazing heat that filled you at the sight of a smiling Kylo. Pushing off from the seabed, you wander about the cove, feeling his eyes on you wherever you went.

Kylo watched, still sat where you left him, as you drifted to the mouth of the cove. You pause there, one hand gripping at the rocky outcrop as you stare out into the open expanse. Turning, you haul yourself up onto the rocks, lower half of your tail submerged whilst you perch, continuing to stare across the rippling surface. He silently draws closer, slipping out of the cove to face you.

Solid arms brace against the rocks in front of you, folding one over the other before Kylo comes to rest his head atop them. You smile down at him, reaching out to brush the wet strands away from his face without thinking. He leans into your gentle touch, seeking out the light press of your delicate fingers.

"What's it like out there?" You whisper, and he hums at your question.

"Big." He states, and you lightly swat his shoulder, though your face softens at the next word to pass his lips. "Lonely."

"Lonely?" You echo, fingers returning to stroke his hair. "Is there no one else?"

"There are others, but they-" He cuts himself off, glowering as he struggled to formulate a response. Vulnerability seeps into his tone, something that he so often tried to bury beneath the usual anger that ate away at him, though he found such emotions dissipated into nothingness when he was with you. "No one like me. No one . . . _for_ me."

He evades your gentle gaze, unworthy of your concern. "Hey," You murmur softly, waiting until he looked up to you before continuing. "There's nothing wrong with being the only one like yourself, that's what makes us unique. And don't think that you have no one - you have me."

Kylo swallows hard at your words. "You have me." He echoes, before suddenly pushing away from the rocks.

"Wait! Where are you going? Did I say something wrong?" You cry out, panicking at his unexpected departure.

He pauses, shaking his head as he glances at you with determination sprawled across his face. "There's something I have to do. I'll be back at four-thirty tomorrow."

He's gone before you can reply, dark form speeding away, and you lose sight of him far too quickly for your liking. With a deep sigh, you stare out at the open waters for a while longer, wondering just what he meant by 'there's something I have to do'. Eventually, the sun begins its descent below the horizon, and you force yourself to return back to the house, still unsettled by Kylo's odd behaviour. 

You hoped that tomorrow would have the answers for your unvoiced questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! I'm on a roll!   
> This one is more of a filler of sorts - next up: Kylo begins courting, so keep your eyes peeled!  
> And thank you all for the kudos and bookmarks so far, and for the lovely comments :) they're a wonderful motivator!


	4. The Courting

To your utter delight, Kylo returned the next day at four-thirty on the dot, an elated smile lighting up your face at the fact that he had not only put your gift to use but also remembered what you had taught him. Your eyes catch sight of the black metal band of the watch, and then to his big hands, which are cupped together, concealing something within. Curious, you glance at his face, head tilting in question as you take in the odd expression drawing at his features.

Lips pulled into a tight line, his jaw is rigid with tension, dark eyes fixed intently on your face, though when his dark eyes meet yours, his pallid complexion is shaded by a dark flush, and he visibly swallows before coming up short before you.

"Are you okay, Kylo? You don't look so well, are you sick?" You babble worriedly, hands coming up to flutter about his wide frame. He gives you a stiff, jerky nod, swallowing once more, and your brow furrows. "Are you sure?"

Kylo's chest feels like it might explode from the brutal pounding of his heart that rattled against his ribs. He had been nervous since he'd made his sudden departure yesterday, his decision to begin the process of courting you bringing forth familiar emotions, the fear of rejection, of not being good enough for you, for anyone. And yet, he knew he couldn't let your precious gift go by without at least trying his best to bestow you with a gift of his own, despite knowing that whatever he hoped to find would come no where near close to what you had given him.

Before meeting you, Kylo hadn't thought courtship to be a particularly difficult ordeal. Tedious, yes, especially so when his mother would prod at his personal life and try to push him in the direction of any maid she deemed fit for him. The only real experience he'd had with courting was when trying to win the affections of Princess Rey, and though Ben had been victorious in claiming her for his mate, he considered his own efforts to have been good enough.

But that was before you.

Yesterday, he had scoured the ocean floor for miles, ransacking every shipwreck he knew of in search of something worthy to bestow upon you. With Rey, he had thought the golden coins he'd scavenged from a shattered chest would be perfect for her hair, a fierce match for her gleaming scales. But for you, he found gold coins to be not right - not enough - and not nearly as beautiful as you. He'd found jewels, gems of every colour in cuts that would send refracted beams of light in every which way, and although they caught his attention, Kylo knew that they would serve no purpose to you, not like your gift did for him.

Frustrated after hours of fruitless searching, Kylo had returned to the place he called home, at the rocky crops and ledges where his people resided. Here, he wasn't invisible, though try as he might, but he ignored the prying eyes of his kind in favour of returning to the hidden ledge that he slept on.

He had almost reached the ledge when someone stopped him. Ben, with his sharp golden eyes, had caught sight of the newest addition to Kylo's wrist, and a calculating smirk had made its way onto his face. "What's that you have there, brother?"

Kylo grunted, made no effort to answer as he evaded Ben's curious gaze.

"Doesn't look like something you just found at the bottom of the ocean. In fact, it looks brand new."

"And?" Kylo snaps, teeth bared as Ben continued to poke.

"Just wondering where you got it from, is all. Though I have noticed that you've been gone for an awfully long time these past few days." He observed, brows slowly creeping up in silent suggestion.

"It's none of your concern." He grits out, and Ben huffs a short laugh at his brother's defensive tone.

"Be careful up there, Ky, humans are dangerous."

Kylo's eyes had flashed, fins flaring in warning. A lazy grin spread over Ben's face, and he reached out to pat Kylo's scarred shoulder before drifting away. With a low growl, Kylo made up the remaining short distance to the ledge and glared into empty space until sleep finally took him.

The following morning, Kylo was up before first light could even begin to warm the cool waters, once again on the hunt to find something to give you. The urge to begin courting you properly left him restless and high-strung, a continuous hum of nerves that filled his mind with a pressure and left his usual self-confidence brittle and frayed. Often, he found himself checking his watch, as morning became noon, and noon became one, and then two.

By three, Kylo was desperate, and it was only by chance that he stumbled upon something that _might_ just stand a chance of proving his fast-growing devotion to you. He had studied it carefully, turning it over and over in his hands until he worried he might wear it away into nothing, before forming a tight fist around it, nodding to himself at his decision.

It would have to do.

The entire time it took for him to reach your cove was spent with his head crowded with fear. He tried to imagine your reaction, to anticipate your response, but each time his mind would provide him with the memory of Rey's disinterest in him, before she had taken Ben's gift and taken him as a mate. The bite of past rejection dug its way deep into his conscience, and when the rocky outcrops of the cove came into view, Kylo felt so nauseous that he was certain he was the same colour as sea-grass.

He paused for a moment, relaxing his fist so he could take one last look at its contents. It stared up at him unassumingly, and he took a deep, supposedly-steadying breath, before trapping it between both hands and resuming movement towards the cove.

When the sight of you fills his line of vision, Kylo finds that he's lost any oxygen his lungs had previously contained. The smile that stretches across your face leaves him blinded, and he can only stare back, dumb as a common guppy, as he struggles to swallow the lump in his throat and take the first step to courting you. His gift feels like a tonne of dead weight, and he forces himself to make up the distance between you before the urge to turn tail and dive away takes over.

The concern that you displayed for him set his whole body tingling, your hands - the most delicate he'd ever seen in his entire life - hovered over him, and he yearned for you to reach out just a little more, to rest those tiny hands on his broad chest and give him what he so desperately craved. The questions you asked him, he could only offer wordless replies, terrified that his voice might fail him.

His gaze darts from your face down to his hands, and back up again, and the hope that screams at you from those obsidian depths steals your breath away. Slowly, your eyes slide down his face, dragging across the endless slabs of muscle that built his torso, before stopping at his hands. Shifting, Kylo hesitantly peels his palms away from each other to reveal the treasure he protected within them.

Your eyes widen so much that you distantly worry that they might fall out of your head. A sharp gasp escapes you, gills fluttering faintly as you stare down at the shimmering gift in his hands. It was a necklace, solid gold and so finely crafted with winding filigree chain links that you worry a single touch would damage it. An array of stones adorned every other link, fire opals and amethysts and alexandrites all intertwined with delicate coils of gold. An ornate pendant, a large oval-cut ruby sat in a delicate floral frame and encrusted with a frame of pearls sat in the centre, winking up at you as it commanded the sunlight filtering through the surface.

It was clearly hundreds of years old despite the fact that it looked to be in pristine condition, and nausea roils in your stomach at the sheer thought of how much such a piece of finery must have cost all those years ago, and just at how much it would cost by today's standards. You had thought the watch had been expensive, but the priceless jewelry he held out to now had you reevaluating your concept of monetary value. 

"Kylo, I-I . . . I can't accept this, it's too . . . I-" Your tongue stumbles as you babble on, in complete awe of the treasure he had brought to you. "It's too expensive, I can't take it, it's too beautiful . . ."

"Please."

His voice trembles with the simple plea, and you glance up with wide eyes to meet his own begging ones. You can only stare in shock, jaw slack and heart trembling before nodding slowly, faintly, still breathless from the sight of the necklace, and that Kylo had found it and was giving it to you. What did it mean?

The chain was long enough that he could slip it over your head, and you shiver when the cool metal settles against your skin, a shudder following shortly after when Kylo's fingers skim the fragile skin of your neck and down the tops of your shoulders. Glancing down at the pendant that had settled between your breasts, you reach up, though your hands stop short of touching it. "I- thank you. I don't know what to say. I've never seen something so beautiful before . . ."

i _It's nowhere near as beautiful as you_ , Kylo wants to say. Instead, he offers you a hesitant smile. "You like it?"

"Like it?" You echo, eyes wide at his downplay. "Kylo, I _love_ it! It's _gorgeous_ , truly. Thank you. I don't deserve-"

"Of course you do." He cuts in, daring to take one of your hands in his own. His brow dips, unable to understand why you thought yourself unworthy of something as simple as a necklace. "You deserve that and more."

You couldn't decide if you were feeling light-headed from your sudden inability to breathe, the way Kylo was staring at you with those piercing ebony eyes, or the burning ache that was slowly building deep within your core. Maybe all three were the reason. But suddenly, you were no longer thinking straight, and the only thing your mind can come up with is you surging forward and colliding your lips with his.

The act takes him by surprise, his hand tightening on yours momentarily before slipping away to grip at your body, one arm snaking around your back, large enough to fully wrap around you and for his hand to settle at your waist, the other finding purchase at the nape of your neck. His full lips are pliant beneath yours, parting for you to tentatively slip your tongue past before his own delves into your mouth. Finding your own hands tangled amidst his hair, you tug at the strands, moaning breathlessly as you melt into each other.

Kylo jerks back sharply, though he maintains his hold on you. "I-" He pauses, clearing his throat to rid his voice of the gutteral tone it had taken on. "I'm glad you like it. I'll bring you more."

You take in the sight of Kylo, inky curls tangled, flushed cheeks, swollen lips, eyes glassy. "Thank you." You whisper, voice breathy. You're certain that you must be in a similar state to him, and your blush darkens at your forward display of affection.

The rest of his visit is spent resting in the sea-grass together, holding one another's hands and blushing the entire time like a pair of shy school-children. When it comes time for him to leave, Kylo sneaks a gentle peck to the high-point of your cheek, the spot where his lips touch set ablaze with tingles. You watch him leave, lifting yourself from the water to perch on the rocks, a blissful sigh escaping your lips as you recount the afternoon, fingertips ghosting over the heavy pendant that sat against your chest. 

Kylo remained true to his word. The following day, he returned with another necklace to compliment the first, a thin chain with links as fine as baby hair and a single blinding diamond that left you just as awe-struck as the first one. More gifts followed over the course of several weeks - more jewelry; an ornately gilded hand mirror of the Italian rococo style; gemstones, both cut and raw of every colour under the sun; an ivory comb with oriental carvings, still within its waterlogged case, the velvet lining worn and discoloured with age.

The gift that touched you the most, as strange as it was, had been a dagger. Persian in origin, it was a curved silver blade with an elaborately carved gold-gilded grip and sheath. The flat of the blade was also carved, intertwining filigree vines that you ran feather-light fingertips over, marveling over the detail. His reasoning had left you swooning.

"I worry about you. I know this is your home, but . . . If you were to be with me, out there, you'd be in danger. Your teeth are blunt, and you have no claws."

The implication of his words weighed heavy on you, the quiet hope in his voice drawing forth images of a future with him. It hadn't taken you very long to figure out what he was doing - from the first necklace he had brought you, you knew this was courtship - and you found yourself falling for him deeper and deeper every day. You knew that even without the priceless gifts you would have fallen for him sooner or later, but when you thought about it, it wasn't even the gifts themselves that left you short of breath and full of heat for him, but the thought behind each one.

A blade to protect yourself, the comb for your hair and a mirror to go with it, stunning jewelry and jewels simply because ' _they reminded me of you'_. His reasoning for each one, which he would quietly explain every time, would dig its way a little further into your heart, leave you even deeper in love with him.

It was after a month of courting, on a quiet Saturday morning, when things changed. You had woken up, eyes automatically going to the window to take in the gentle rays of early sunlight, before freezing. Lurking in the cove was Kylo.

Despite the early hour, you immediately snapped to attention, stumbling out of your room and clambering out of the house to make your way down the pier. "Kylo! Are you okay?"

_Of course you were concerned_ , he thought. He huffed quietly in amusement, bubbles floating to the surface where only his eyes were above. He rises, ripples lapping at his shoulders, and studies you with a playful glint in his eye. "You're not happy to see me so early?"

You gape, scrambling to correct yourself. "No, of course I am! I love seeing you, I just, I wasn't expecting you so soon." You immediately become aware of your sleep-tumbled appearance, hair wild and loose about your face and in nothing but an old baggy t-shirt that barely skimmed mid-thigh.

He hums, long and low, and you shudder at the sensation the deep sound sends through you. Swallowing, you tug at the hem of your shirt; Kylo follows the movement with a rapt gaze, and you flush at the attention.

"I'll be back, I need to, um . . . get ready."

"Bring your comb. And the mirror." Kylo murmurs, and you tilt your head curiously before nodding.

Rushing through your morning routine at breakneck speed, you find yourself back on the pier in record time, comb in one and and mirror clutched in the other, and dive in to properly greet Kylo, wondering what treasures he had found this time.

Before you've even fully transformed, his vast hands find your waist, drawing you close, though he doesn't kiss you as he usually does. Instead, he tugs you up until you both breach the surface, where he simply stares at you, dark eyes taking in every detail, every feature and minute display of expression that flashes across your face. Finally, his gaze meets your own questioning one, and a slow smile spreads across his handsome face.

"Remember what I said before? About teaching you to decorate your hair?" He begins, and you nod eagerly, face brightening. "To our people, it means more than just making your hair pretty. It's . . . a rite of passage, to decorate anothers' hair."

Kylo's face scrunches up as he tries to explain it to you, but it's meaning isn't lost on you. This was more than a lesson. Deep within, some faint instinct thrums with anticipation of what the act truly meant. You drop the comb for a moment in favour of reaching up to cup his face, you brush your thumb across his cheek, briefly skimming the faint scar. "I understand."

Your faint words make his shoulders relax the slightest, and he studies you for a moment longer before tugging you down. Tilting his head down, you follow his gaze before gasping in wonder.

The entire cove floor had been decorated with shells, hundreds of them sitting in the sands, all different colours and sizes and shapes. Natural shells, shells that had been polished until they shimmered with pearlescence, even shells hand-carved into different shapes - you try to imagine Kylo's huge hands carving away at a tiny shell, and almost giggle if you weren't so awe-struck.

"Kylo . . . This is . . ." You trail off, unable to finish whatever it was you were trying to say.

"Go ahead and pick. Whatever you want." He rumbles, softly pushing you to look closer.

"I . . . don't even know where to begin . . . Would you help me?"

He nods, heart hammering at your request as your innocent eyes fix on him. Of course he would help you, he would help you with anything you wanted, would _do_ anything you wanted.

Together the two of you pick out an array of shells: a handful of delicate purple clam shells, several flat scallop shells of coral pink, two halves of a nautilus that had been split down the centre to reveal its inner chambers, smooth discs of mother of pearl like coins, and a polished abalone shell that matched your tail.

Kylo settles you in the comfort of the sea-grass, settling the desired shells to the side as he takes the comb you had earlier discarded. He begins by combing at your hair, his touch so shockingly gentle that you barely feel him working away at the knots in your loose hair that you so often wore tied up. You can feel yourself becoming boneless at his ghostly touches, treating you so softly, and your breaths leave you in soft pants.

When your hair feels like liquid silk from his gentle administrations, he takes the first shell, and you glance over your shoulder to watch as he pierces it with the tip of his claw. Turning back around, you sense him take a strand and thread the shell into place, winding the hair around it in a manner that set the accessory into place. He repeated the actions with each shell, his manner so tender and loving that you felt tears well in your eyes. How had you found someone so perfect, someone who treated you like a princess when you had done nothing to deserve such a thing?

He finishes, brushing your hair back with light fingers, before slipping the mirror into your hands. They tremble in anticipation as you raise the glass to admire his work. How such large hands had managed to carry out such a task, you had no idea, but his attentions left you looking like royalty, and you swallow thickly, lifting a hand to stroke at a purple shell close to the front.

All your life, you had felt different, torn between two worlds. A human world - where you were loved by friends, though none of them knew of your true self - and a mermaid world - one where you were completely alone, isolated by the unknown. With Kylo, you found yourself experiencing something you hadn't felt since before your mother had died.

Belonging.

You catch sight of Kylo's reflection, studying your reaction through the mirror too, and a shaky smile takes over your face as you turn to face him. Placing the mirror beside you, you take his face in both hands to place a lingering kiss to his lips, trying to convey a tenderness that you had no words strong enough for.

"Thank you." You whisper against his lips before pulling away. "Can I . . ?"

Dragging your fingers through his own locks, you note the relief that melts the tension from his face, mouth relaxing and eyes softening as he nods at your unfinished question. Considering his hair for a moment, you make a decision and smile, grabbing a handful of the remaining pearl discs and the mirror before taking his hand and pulling him up.

"Come on, let's sit on the rocks for this." He follows, waiting for you to pull yourself up onto the rock before pausing, eyeing the makeshift seat with apprehension. "You can stay there if you want, just turn around."

With a nod, he follows your suggestion, back pressing to the rock and arms coming up to spread along the solid surface so as to anchor himself. Dragging your nails through his hair, you tug it all back, grinning when his head tilts back to chase the light scratch against his scalp. You work in sections, from his hairline to his crown, and before long, you're finished, stroking at the several rows of french braids you had made, each one tied off with a mother of pearl disc that stood out in stark contrast to his dark locks, now tamed away from his face by your attentive hands.

"Would you like to see?" You ask, nervous fingers twisting in the loose strands at the nape of his neck. Kylo groans at the the sensation, head falling back into your lap, and he stares up at you from behind heavy eyelids. A low rumble escapes him that you take for a 'yes', and you give him the mirror that you'd set beside you on the rocks, face hopeful as you await his reply.

He stares at his reflection for some time, and your worried fingers twist in the free locks at the sides of his face. A wide smile splits his face, sharp teeth gleaming in the sunlight, and he blindly tosses the mirror into the waters before turning to you and wrapping his arms around you, lifting himself further until the first few scales of his tail were peeking out of the surface.

" _Thank you_." He breathes, before pulling you in for a fierce kiss, tugging you off the rocks and into the waters. And there, in his arms, with his full lips on yours, it feels like _home_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed my take on Kylo's courtship methods! Let me know what you think :)  
> The necklace was inspired by the ones from the Cheapside Hoard - check it out, it's incredible   
> Also, I couldn't help myself, I absolutely had to incorporate the TFA Kylo braids in here lol

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!   
> I've been dying to write something mermaid-y for years omg, and look!! I've finally done it!!  
> Let me know what you all think - comments, kudos, bookmarks are all welcome :)


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